Damaged
by Jailynn5
Summary: **HIATUS**She was verging on success; he was damaged and trying to survive. One day, one moment, one second changed their entire lives. Sometimes, people meet once, and never see each other again; but other times there is a deeper meaning, not yet discovered. Can two people from two different worlds ever really coexist in the same place? Is it worth fighting for?(RATING MAY CHANGE)
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Secret Life of the American Teenager or it's characters; however, I do own my ideas of this plot. **Warning**: There will be profanity, sex, and violence, so keep that in mind. Rating will most likely change to M in later chapters.

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><p><strong><span>Prologue<span>**

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><p>The commanding and earsplitting applause sounded off the walls of the abandoned theater. The sharp volume of feet banging against the stands somehow conveyed an accelerated strain of anxiety, but she didn't know why she was so anxious. She wasn't used to these kinds of environments and the diversity of frightening and devious looking crowds, but it was something she agreed too—<em>something she wasn't sure if she would regret<em>.

Ricky would be approaching the inner ring of the stage within minutes and while she wasn't sure her presence here was a smart decision on her behalf, she had to admit that something about his lifestyle _intrigued_ her. However, something tonight was making her skin crawl. She shuddered against her seat when she heard the man announce the competitors; his voice was sinful and blatant.

Within seconds the crowd roared, and she caught site of his face. His eyes were focused, and his demeanor was cold. He was ready to fight, and he was ready to prevail. His feet bobbing in a back and forth movement, and his glare concentrated on his opponent.

The man-made bell rang loudly, and the two began circling around each other. Amy's hands held on tightly to the arms of the chairs, as she studied his every move. She wasn't sure why she felt the urgency to want to watch him in one of these positions; but, for some reason everything about him was growing on her. She wanted to be there to support him, even if she didn't agree with what he chose to do.

All of a sudden the crowd thundered when Ricky's fist clapped against the other man's jaw. Amy felt herself edging on her seat to get a better view of it all. However within seconds Amy gasped and her face tightened with worry. Ricky was hit with a hard blow to the ribs and immediately came crashing to the ground. She wasn't sure what to do in that moment; but strangely enough she was beginning to feel very _protective_ of him…

He was _nothing_ like her, and she was _far from anything_ like him; but, despite their _many_ differences, there was _something_ there - something she _wanted_, yet was still _so afraid_ of.


	2. No Name

**A/N:** _This chapter has been **updated**, I added in a beginning sequence and a couple of other things to make the storyline flow a bit better, so please **re-read** :)_

_Enjoy..._

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><p>Ricky sedately stretched his arm over to the bedside table; grabbing his cellphone to check the time on. The shades in his bedroom window were dark, so he knew the sun had already set. His eyes amplified when he realized that it was just past 9:30 pm. He instantly rose from the bed and tossed the sleeping blonde off of his chest; startling her from his rapid escape.<p>

"What's going on, why'd you get up?" she asked in a drowsy whine; rolling her head back onto the pillow and pulling the gray sheet above her neck to cover her bare skin.

"You gotta go" Ricky said; jumping around the room as he tried to put his jeans on quickly, "I got somewhere I need to be"

The blondes face lined in confusion, "Seriously? After all that, you're just going to kick me out now? I thought I would spend the night at least?" She sat up, holding the sheet securely around her chest; her face in complete disbelief.

Ricky tossed her clothes on the bed and snapped back, "well you thought wrong".

She rolled her eyes and slipped her shirt over her head, "geez you sure know how to treat a girl", she muffled.

Ricky eyes furrowed for a second, but he let it go. He didn't have time for petty disputes with some chick that thought their little get together would be anything more than a one-time thing. He had somewhere he needed to be, and she needed to get the hell out of his apartment. He quickly threw a t-shirt on over his head and started walking out the bedroom while shouting over his shoulder, "Hurry up, I gotta go".

He headed straight for the refrigerator in his medium-sized kitchen, and pulled out a container of milk; taking a swig right out of the container.

"Gross" the blonde muttered as she entered the kitchen fully clothed, with the exception of her shoes. Her hair was tasseled and her makeup a little smeared. Ricky smirked at her remark, and placed the milk container back into the fridge; continuing to search the shelves for something quick to eat.

The blonde took a seat on one of the chairs and started slipping her knee-high boots over her denim jeans, "so do you want my number or something?" she said with a drop of irritation in her voice.

"Whatever" Ricky shrugged, stuffing a cold leftover chicken cutlet in his mouth.

"_Whatever_?" the blonde echoed in question, becoming increasingly bothered by his attitude and discourtesy; but, Ricky snubbed her again and the blonde became furious. "You know what, forget it asshole!" she said as she stood up from the chair, and snatched her purse off the table. She blustered out of the kitchen and the apartment door, leaving it to slam shut behind her.

Ricky smirked and let out an amused snicker, "You weren't that good anyway" he mumbled before stuffing the remaining piece of cutlet into his mouth.

It was always the same story… he'd take a girl home, sleep with her and then when it was time to leave, the girl always wanted the 'let's exchange numbers' charade. It was nothing more than casual sex to him, and he didn't understand why girls always had to be so clingy. _Can't two people just have a good time without any strings attached_? He shook his head and wiped the side of his mouth with the back of his hand, when his phone started ringing in his pocket.

He dug in to retrieve it and when he saw the name across the screen he rolled his eyes, picked up and shoved the phone between his jaw and shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm leaving now, I'll be there in about an hour" he answered, grabbing his leather jacket off the back of the chair.

"You need to get here soon, Boykewich isn't gonna be too happy if your late again" the caller on the other end said with a grungy brashness.

"I'm on my way. I was busy; but I'm leaving now to catch the train" he retorted, clearly annoyed.

"Yeah well hurry up, we've got training to do" the caller said before snappishly hanging up the phone.

Ricky's jaw tensed angrily as he grabbed the phone from his shoulder and slid it back into his pocket. But he knew the guy was right, he'd been slacking on their meetups lately.

He walked over to the coffee table, grabbed a bag leaning alongside it, flicked the light switch off and hurried out the apartment door.

Xxxxxx

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><p>The train screeched to a stop and Amy's body lethargically jerked forward in response.<p>

She only had four more stops to go, and she couldn't wait to get off the train and go home, into her warm and snug bed. She was exhausted from the twelve hours she worked and if she didn't get off the train soon, she swore the swaying motion was going to rock her right to sleep.

Usually she enjoyed the subway rides and it was one of her favored things about New York City; but, absolutely not in that moment... not when she was traveling home unaccompanied, late at night… and not to mention the fact that she was half dead as well.

"Next stop 14th Street/Union Square", Amy jumped for a second as the voice over the loud speaker resonated through her ears.

She collected her things and hoisted herself up as she waited for her exit. As she leaned against the metal pole, she tried to flat out her black pants and suit jacket from her slouching the entire way there. When the train prepared to stop, she glanced over her shoulder and observed the remaining subway cart. It was almost empty, besides an older woman s sitting in the corner, a young man a couple seats down staring out the window, and an older man standing behind her waiting to exit as well.

The doors slid open, and she took one step forward before she was unexpectedly twisted around and forced against the side of the train. The man she thought nothing of, that was standing behind her waiting to exit, was now standing in front of her with his hand compressed firmly over her mouth.

Her eyes widened in reaction and she instinctively tried to throw her arms around; but became increasingly stagnant when he displayed a rather large knife from underneath his ripped jean jacket. Amy's heart felt like it would surge from her chest as she timidly stared at the malicious man in front of her.

"We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way" he gritted through his teeth, still making the knife visible, "give me your purse and anything else you got, and do it quick!". He gestured his eyes towards the closing train doors, and instantly Amy's anxiety rose even more. If she didn't hand over her things fast, the train was going to start moving with her propped up against it.

Without hesitating Amy let her left arm fall, causing her purse to plunge onto the platform. The train began vibrating, and her heart sped up even more knowing it would begin moving soon. The man loosened his grasp on her, and bent down to retrieve the purse, when all of a sudden he was startled by a loud voice and a man running towards them.

"Hey!" the unknown man shouted, "what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

The vicious man panicked for a few seconds and his eyes deviously met Amy's momentarily before he took off running, leaving her bag unscathed. Amy dropped to the floor immediately, as the train started moving and within seconds disappearing into the dark tunnel. The unknown man walked over to Amy and promptly held a hand out to help her to her feet.

"You okay?" he asked in a hard, yet sensitive tone; but Amy was too shell-shocked to respond, "You hurt?"

She let out a large gasp of air that she didn't realize she'd been holding and shook her head no. She wasn't sure what to do or say, all she knew was that she was extremely petrified. She never experienced something so frightening in her entire life, and even though it was over in a matter of minutes, she felt as if she was held up on that train for hours.

Her hands were shaking uncontrollably and her pale cheeks were even redder than their normal shade.

"You should sit down for a few minutes" the man suggested, motioning Amy towards the bench in the middle of the platform. She did as suggested; but still not speaking. "Do you have someone you can call to come meet you?" he asked, knowing the girl shouldn't be left to continue her travels alone.

"My... my sister; but she's probably sleeping by now" her voice came out in a shaky rasp.

The man thought about it for a few seconds, and his face clenched as if he was at war with his own thoughts, "Well it's probably not a good idea to have her out walking alone to meet you either", he took a deep sigh and then asked, "how far do you live from here?"

Amy gulped, she wasn't sure she should even be talking to someone else after what just happened; how did she know this man wasn't going to try and mug her as well, or worse? However, he did practically just save her from god-only-knows what would have happened.

"It's fine" she looked cautiously out the corner of her eyes, "I'm not far"

He persisted, "Well, I'll walk you if it's not far"

"Really…", Amy said, "I'll be fine"

The man's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "you think I'm gonna let you walk out there after what just happened? That asshole could be waiting outside for you, for all you know…"

Amy was going to protest; but after realizing that he may be right, she figured it wasn't a good idea.

"Thank you" she said, her voice very weak.

"Don't mention it", his voice was calm, but yet, still not very inviting.

"I'm about two blocks down, right by 5th Avenue" she said cautiously, feeling bad for making this guy up route his own plans to walk some stranger home.

The man nodded and stood up from the bench, "Alright c'mon"

Amy was hesitant at first; but she definitely didn't want to be out on the streets alone after what had happened. She gathered herself together and followed the man up the stairs and out of the train station.

Xxxxxxx

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><p>They approached Amy's block and she motioned to turn the corner. They hadn't said much the entire way, and Amy was honestly still so distraught over everything that happened, that she just didn't even know what to say. This mysterious 'hero' of hers didn't say much of anything either, basically staring straight ahead the entire way, besides his minor scoping of the streets, probably looking for the mugger.<p>

"I really appreciate your stepping in and scaring that guy away", Amy bit her lip nervously at the replay of images in her head, "I don't know what would have happened if you didn't"

He snuck a quick glance out the corner of his eye and nodded, "I told you, don't mention it… just did the right thing"

His voice was not inviting at all, and Amy wondered why he would even help her in the first place if he wasn't very friendly.

"I'm Amy by the way" she informed.

He nodded and Amy waited curiously for him to introduce himself; but when it never came she took it upon herself to find out.

"Are you going to tell me yours?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm; but, he didn't feed into it.

"Not important" he answered with no emotion.

"Well, it is a little bit for me…" her eyes narrowing, "I'd like to know the person's name that saved me"

He rolled his eyes, "It was just the right place, right time kind of thing"

Amy bit the inside of her cheek as she glanced over at the introverted 'no name' walking beside her. What was the big deal of telling her his name? She didn't want to annoy the man that helped her; but things like this bothered her. She was always the, when someone said 'don't touch that', she was even more intrigued to touch it, kind of person.

"I'd really like to know your name" she persisted.

He took a deep breath and his face clenched a bit, "you're quite annoying"

Amy couldn't help but chuckle a little and the man rolled his eyes again. As they approached Amy's apartment complex, she stopped for a second trying to think of what to say. All of a sudden she started searching through her purse and pulled out a fifty dollar bill and extended it towards him, "Sorry, that's all I have"

His face furrowed in confusion, "I don't want your money"

"No take it; really" her hands were still shaking from earlier, "it's the least I can do for you, after intervening back there"

"I said, I don't want your money" he said slightly annoyed, pressing her hand away, "Just stop traveling alone at night… it's not safe for a girl like you"

Amy became confused by his statement, a girl like me? However, she just placed the bill back into her purse and ignored the comment.

"Well thank you… no name" she whispered with a small laugh, trying to lighten the tension a bit.

He rolled his eyes and then turned around and began walking back towards the direction they came in. Amy stood there watching for a few seconds observing the man that refused to tell her his name; but yet saved her from a mugger. He was taller than her, tanned-skin, as far as she could tell, slicked back brown hair, and a pretty attractive face. Something about him was rather interesting, he seemed to be so kept to himself and had a hard demeanor, but then why would he stand up for some girl he didn't know?

"Hey" she called out from the top of her stairs, causing him to look back for a second, "goodnight"

He gave a quick nod, but said nothing in response.

Amy sighed. She didn't like mystery's… in fact she hated them; but she figured she would never get to solve this one anyway. She'd probably never see the guy again, so with that thought, she entered her building and closed the main door behind her.

Getting inside the elevator, all she could think about was everything that happened. It was one of the worse nights she'd has thus far, and she couldn't wait to be inside her apartment, safe and away from danger.

In all the years since she moved to New York City, she had never felt so frightened since.


	3. Ricky

**_IMPORTANT:_****_ please, if you haven't done so already, go back and re-read the first chapter, because it has been completely changed and a lot of new things added!_**

**_Also, I had a review from someone stating that they we're 'tired of reading RAMY stories' ... please do me a favor and don't read it then... I work very hard on the fanfics I post and if they are not to your liking, than by all means, don't read them. Also, I always give Ben a good story line, even though I prefer not to have him with with Amy... that is just what I like to write... so please keep your comments to yourself if you disagree with my choice of pairings. _**

**_Ah, so with that being said... Enjoy loves Xoxo._**

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><p><strong><em><span>One Month Later…<span>_**

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><p>Amy maddeningly slid her fingers through the tresses of her long brown hair, and gritted her teeth as a harsh whimper seeped through her lips. It was already 8:30 pm on a Friday night; yet she was still sitting inside her cubical researching the same old political crap she'd been researching for weeks. There was nothing new, nothing exciting or intriguing enough for her to write the article on and she was beginning to feel like it would be the end of her employment with NY Press. Her head was a complete blur and she honestly could not find anything original enough or good enough to score her brownie points, and she <em>needed some brownie points<em>.

Her boss, Mr. David Johnson, wasn't exactly thrilled with her work lately, and he wasn't modest in his opinions about it either. Besides her inability to present any unprecedented and unpredictable topics for the paper, she also had to take time off recently to attend jury duty as well. Although Jury Duty was completely mandatory, she could still feel the fury sprinting from her bosses' face when she told him she was one of the twelve chosen for deliberation of the trial. The trial lasted three weeks before Amy was released, and even though he couldn't directly say it to her, she knew he was livid.

However, shortly after her return, he assigned a new section of the paper to Amy; a section called 'NYC Controversies, Debates, and Discoveries'. At first Amy was excited to develop her own separate section of the paper, and felt as if she may have _finally_ made her mark in the journalism world; however, that was _until_ she was told what it exactly entailed and what was on the line if she didn't generate good sales as a result.

She was directed to present topics on things debatable and questionable that have yet to be found or discovered. How in the hell was she supposed to explore a topic that had _never or not recently_ been explored? It was New York City for goodness sake… there were millions of other journalists and reporters trying to find the exact same topics as she was.

Amy banged her finger against the backspace button on the keyboard, erasing the whole two sentences she typed in the last two hours. Her eyes were starting to see double and she just couldn't bear to look at the computer screen any longer. She closed the laptop and began massaging the bridge of her nose.

"Goodnight Amy, see you Monday"

Amy looked up and caught a quick glance of her co-worker, Chloe, as she walked down the long hallway leading to the elevators.

"Goodnight" Amy replied heavily, knowing how bad she wanted to leave as well. She pulled her cellphone out of her desk drawer and checked the time again.

8:50pm.

As she debated whether or not to call it a night and go home, her phone interrupted her inner arguments. Her sister, Ashley's, name displayed across it, and she quickly placed the phone to her ear.

"Hey", Amy answered; her voice drained.

"Wow, don't you sound like a happy camper", Ashley snickered with sarcasm.

"Yeah, far from it. I'm still at work. What's up?"

"Nothing. Griffin and I were just wondering if you wanted to come with us to some new bar that opened up a couple of weeks ago?"

"Where?" Amy asked; but before Ashley could answer Amy's face creased in puzzlement, "Wait a minute you're going to a bar? How the hell did Griffin pull that one off?" Amy chuckled.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Actually, it was my idea, I'll have you know"

"Really? Is it some kind of goth secret vampire hideout bar or something?" Amy joked.

"Oh Amy, you're just a barrel of laughs. Listen are you coming or what? Griffin says he will pick you up on the way"

Amy bit her lip for a second as she glanced back at her closed laptop. _Screw it, work could wait. She had all weekend to think about it anyway._

"Yeah, I'll come; but I'm dressed in my work suit…"

"Well it's not like it's a fashion show… whatever, I'll bring you a sweater or something so you can take your suit jacket off"

"Okay, so when are you leaving?"

"Ten minutes; be outside your building in twenty"

"Okay, see you then"

Amy hung the phone up and started placing her laptop and papers into her bag. She needed a night out _desperately_. It felt like forever since she was able to just enjoy a Friday night, like a _normal_ twenty five year old. And with that, she cleaned up and organized her desk and made her way towards the elevator.

Xxxxxxxx

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><p>Amy was sitting on one of the red dressed up barstools, sipping her simple vodka and cranberry through a small pink straw when a gentle tap on her shoulder suddenly startled her. She swung around and her face eased when she saw her childhood friend standing behind her with a wide smile.<p>

"Lauren?" a smile appeared on her face and she leaned forward to hug her, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here with Madison" the pretty dark-skinned girl motioned towards a slim red-head at the end of the bar, flirting with some guy, "We decided to come check this place out, people have been ranting and raving over it. I'm surprised to see you here."

"Yeah I know. Ashley and Griffin invited me to come with them. I thought it sounded fun at first, but honestly I'm exhausted now" she chuckled and Lauren smiled.

"Hey, you need a night out every once in a while. Can't let your job take over your entire life either…" Lauren smiled and scoped Amy's surroundings, "So, where is Ashley and Griffin?"

Amy looked around; she had been wondering the same thing for a while. The two of them said they were going to the restrooms about twenty minutes prior and never returned. "I'm not sure… they're somewhere around here though"

Lauren glanced back at Madison and her face quivered when she observed her very drunk friend throwing herself all over some guy with a long fuzzy beard. "Ugh, I better get back over there"

Amy chortled as she caught the same sight, "Yeah, you better do that"

"I'll give you a call and we can get together. I miss you" Lauren said as she began walking backwards towards her friend.

"Okay" Amy nodded, "Miss you too"

A few minutes after Lauren disappeared and Amy sipped the last of her drink, she was really beginning to wonder where Ashley and Griffin had gone. It had been a really long time since they left and she was beginning to get concerned.

She checked the restrooms and the other end of the bar; but there was still no sight of them. She began digging into her purse to retrieve her cell phone. As she pulled it out and began calling Ashley, she covered one ear with her hand so she could hear.

"Hello?" Ashley answered.

"Ashley where the hell are you guys?" Amy's tone a little annoyed.

"Oh calm down, we're down the block"

Amy's eyes widened, "You guys left and didn't even tell me?" she heard a bunch of people yell in the background, "Hello! Ashley!"

"Yeah, I can't really hear you Amy. Just come out the bar and walk one block down, to the right. We're in the alleyway"

The call ended, and Amy was extremely confused. _What the hell were they doing in an alleyway? They could be mugged… and she knew first hand_.

She shook her head in frustration and sighed as she made her way towards the door.

Xxxxxxx

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><p>After walking a block over, as Ashley said, Amy reached the alleyway and a loud roar of people captured her attention immediately. The crowd was cheering and yelling; but she couldn't catch sight of what was causing them to do so. She slowly and cautiously approached the group of people, her eyes scanning for Ashley and Griffin. Finally she spotted them both, up on their tippy toes and just as eager as everyone else to see what was occurring in the middle of the crowd. Amy walked towards them, becoming increasingly curious of what they were trying to watch.<p>

"Hey, what's going on?" Amy asked.

"Street fighting" Ashley said briefly, still focused on the middle circle.

Amy maneuvered her body a little, getting a view in-between the crowd. There was a tall and heavy built man with blonde slicked back hair standing in the middle. He was pacing side to side, and there was a great deal of blood leaking from his nose. She couldn't see who was on the opposite end; but whoever it was seriously messed up the blondes face.

"How did you know this was going on?" Amy asked as she continued trying to see through the crowd.

"Someone mentioned it in the bathroom… said this guy named Ricky held some kind of record or something. It sounded interesting, so we decided to check it out"

"Is that guy Ricky?" Amy asked, referring to the blonde with the messed up nose.

"I don't think so… I think they said his name is Jack or something. The other one is Ricky"

Amy moved to the left a bit, wondering how big the other guy must have been to hold a 'record' of some sort; but when someone in front of her finally moved and she caught sight of the other opponent, her eyebrows creased and she squinted her eyes to get a better view.

The guy wasn't tall; he was taller than her, but not as tall as the other fighter. He had a white wifebeater on and a pair of jeans. His arms were very defined, and while they weren't bulging with excess muscle, they were well built. From the angle she was watching, she could only get a view of his side profile; however, something looked _extremely familiar_ about this street fighter.

She continued watching, and trying to piece together her thoughts when the tall blonde jabbed the smaller guy in the ribs and immediately fell down. She had to admit, she squirmed a little when the sound echoed of his chest.

Ashley tapped Amy's shoulder and she turned around, even though she was still trying to get a good look at the fighters' face.

"We're going back to the bar. We can barely see what's going on anyway"

"Okay" Amy said, her head reaching out to the side as she tried to see the middle circle.

Ashley's face creased, "Um, are you coming?"

"In a few minutes, I'll be right there"

Ashley rolled her eyes and mouthed the word 'Okay' as her and Griffin left the alley.

Amy didn't even notice when she walked away, she was too focused on figuring out who this person was and why he looked so familiar to her. Suddenly the smaller man picked himself up and began delivering side punches to the blondes' upper jaw, one after another until he was knocked to the floor. After a few more hits on the ground, a tall dark skinned man walked into the circle and lifted the smaller man's arm in the air, announcing him the winner.

"Once again, Undefeated… Ricky!" the dark man yelled to the crowd as they cheered.

Finally he turned his face in Amy's direction, and she gasped while placing a hand over her mouth. _It was the guy from the train-station! The no name that saved her from being mugged!_ She now had a name to link to his face, and she couldn't believe that it was him.

She stood there for a while as the crowd lessened and lessened, waiting and observing him. He was talking with a tall, skinny, black haired man, dressed in a suit. They had a quick conversation before the dark haired man discreetly slipped Ricky an envelope. He nodded, scanned his surroundings, placed the envelope in his pocket and began walking away.

Amy had to talk to him; she couldn't believe she had actually run into him again. She jogged forward and gently called out to him.

"Ricky?" her voice restrained.

He crooked around with a rigid scowl and his eyes restricted as he made contact with her. He recognized her immediately and within seconds he wished he hadn't.

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><p><strong>So that was the second chapter :) We now have seen little bits of characters added in, such as David (Anne's ex), Chloe, Lauren, Madison, Jack, and yes, you guessed right.. Ben! What do you think his role is in all of this? Hope you enjoyed, please tell me your thoughts! Xoxo<strong>


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